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Las Vegas is the top NHL expansion market as door officially opens

The NHL is literally there right now thanks to the league's award show, while potential owner Bill Foley has done a lot of legwork already. Find out what other markets should be considered and what we'd like to call the Vegas team.

Talking about expansion is practically a cottage industry in hockey, but now it's getting real again. According to Chris Johnston, the NHL will announce the formal opening of the expansion process after today's Board of Governor's meeting in Las Vegas.

And guess which city has the inside track?

For us here at THN, Las Vegas is the obvious favorite. Potential owner Bill Foley has done all the right things so far and even collected deposits for 11,500 season tickets. The city has a brand-new arena being built, it's a top 50 television market in the U.S. and as an added bonus, the franchise would play in the Western Conference – currently two teams behind the East.

The city has a population of more than 600,000 people, not to mention an endless stream of tourists to the gambling and entertainment mecca.

Next on the list would be Quebec and Seattle. Quebec has the arena, they have the potential owner in Quebecor (full disclosure: The Hockey News is owned by TVA, which is owned by Quebecor) and the city has a rich history thanks to the old Nordiques.

Seattle on the other hand is a more coveted market for the NHL and would be a natural fit out West (bet we know how Vancouver would vote on that entry). The arena is still an issue, but there is definitely money in the tech-savvy Northwest city.

From there, you drop to another tier featuring Toronto 2, Portland and Kansas City. Some have rinks, some have huge fan bases, some have ownership possibilities, but there is work to be done in all locales. It should also be noted that expansion is not the only avenue to get a team in these markets – given the shifting sands in Arizona, relocation is also a distinct possibility in the future.

One thing to watch for is the starting date for a potential expansion team or two: Mark 2017-18 on your calendars, as that season represents the NHL's 100th anniversary and increasing the empire would be a nice-looking add to the festivities.

But if Las Vegas is the front-runner, the franchise will need a name. Here are some options, from the serious to the…in Vegas parlance…long shots.

Black Knights – Foley has said in the past that he likes this name, which references the West Point military academy, whose NCAA teams go by the moniker.

Wranglers – Used by the ECHL team that used to rep the city, it's a good fit and a little less on-the-nose than 'Gamblers.'

Vultures – This is just a cool name and the carrion-fuelled birds are native to the area.

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No. 1 prospect Nolan Patrick to miss world juniors. How will it affect his draft rank?

Consensus 2017 top prospect Nolan Patrick is not medically cleared to play at the World Junior Championship due to an injury that has kept him out of action since mid-October, but that doesn't necessarily mean his draft stock is falling.

As far as foot-in-mouth stories go, this was my worst. It’s late 2011, and I’m in Sarnia to oversee a photoshoot featuring Alex Galchenyuk and Nail Yakupov. Both are highly touted for 2012 draft, but Galchenyuk is hobbled by a knee injury that will keep him out of all but two games. Gamely, the youngster takes part in the shoot despite a brace on his leg. I try to make small talk with the American-Russian teen. “You must be excited about the world juniors, eh?”

A pall descends on the conversation as Galchenyuk politely reminds Idiot Ryan the knee injury will keep him from going for gold with Team USA. I apologize and do not attempt any more small talk. But here’s the positive to my anecdote: Despite the injury, Galchenyuk was drafted third overall by Montreal and, the next season, helped Team USA win gold at the WJC. In fact, Galchenyuk turned out to be one of the best players in that draft. Right up there with him would be the No. 5 pick by Toronto – Morgan Rielly. Coincidentally, Rielly also missed most of 2011-12 with a knee injury, but the Leafs still took him early. Not that Rielly was kicking back in rehab. “I was concerned,” he said. “You’re a young kid going through something you’ve never gone through before. You want to be a part of your draft year – to compete, to prove yourself.”

Which brings us to Nolan Patrick, the fantastic all-around center for the Brandon Wheat Kings. You may have heard of Patrick, the consensus top prospect for 2017, but you haven’t seen much of him lately. That’s because Patrick was laid up most of the season after sports hernia surgery in the summer, and, like Galchenyuk, Patrick will be forced to miss the World Junior Championship due to his injury. Hockey Canada announced as much on Monday, adding that no replacement has been named for the 18-year-old. And with Windsor’s Gabe Vilardi also struggling through injuries in his draft year, we’re seeing 2012 all over again.

Injuries are tricky for prospects. The main concern, as one scout told me, is whether or not the malady is chronic in nature. That was the fear with Tyler Benson last season. The Vancouver Giants pivot had a painful cyst on his back, then a lower body injury that torpedoed his campaign. One GM I spoke to at the combine pointed out Benson lost essentially a year of development and that was a strike against him. But in the end, Edmonton stepped up and grabbed Benson 32nd overall. So far, he has rewarded the Oilers with a bounce-back campaign in the WHL.

But I can’t say injuries mean nothing in drafting, because we’ve seen the flipside. Brett Connolly missed nearly his entire draft year with a hip injury but still enticed the Lightning enough for them to pick him sixth overall. Connolly did put up points in his next year of junior, but he never turned into an impact NHLer. He’s now on his third franchise in Washington. Was his development path altered by the hip problem, or did the injury obscure his ceiling? These are the questions that keep scouting directors up at night.

As of now? Patrick and Vilardi are great bets to go high in 2017. Since Patrick’s September birthday caused him to miss eligibility for the 2016 draft by mere days, he has a track record already. And Vilardi was an impact OHL rookie whose latest affliction was an appendectomy, which only happens once. “We have lots of info on Gabe and Nolan,” said one scout. “You’re talking about players you could call ‘elite’ prospects.”

And there’s plenty of hockey to be played, especially for Vilardi, who is guaranteed an extended season since Windsor gets an automatic bid for the Memorial Cup as host.

Injuries are a part of the game, and they rarely happen at good times. But if history had been different and Galchenyuk played his full season with Sarnia, would he have gone first overall, before his teammate Yakupov? These are the fateful decisions NHL teams have to live with.

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Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin has turned into quite the find, and on Wednesday he flashed some uncanny offensive awareness and skill with a creative skate pass to set up a power play goal.

It’s taken all of one full season for Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin to go from NCAA standout to top-pairing rearguard in the NHL, but much of that has to do with his ability in his own end.

Don’t take that to mean Slavin can’t make something out of seemingly nothing on offense, though.

During Wednesday’s meeting between the Hurricanes and Ducks, Slavin was manning the point on a power play late in the first frame. As the puck was worked back to Justin Faulk, Slavin retreated back to give his partner a passing option, and when the puck came across the line, it was headed to Slavin’s backhand side, meaning he would have had to slow it and settle it in order to make a play. Instead, he used his feet.

Slavin, in a brilliant display of skill, opened up his stance, let the puck glance off of his right skate and deflected the puck perfectly into Teuvo Teravainen’s wheelhouse. Watch him finish the clever play off with a rocket of a one-timer:

That’s a thing of beauty from start to finish.

As mentioned, Slavin isn’t exactly known for his ability to produce with the puck on his stick, but he is well on his way to surpassing his rookie season output. He notched two goals and 20 points in 63 games during the 2015-16 campaign, and is on pace for three goals and 25 points this year, already with one marker and eight points to his name.

What Slavin brings to the Hurricanes definitely goes beyond his offense, though. In Wednesday’s game, a tough 6-5 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks, Slavin skated more than 28 minutes. It was his season high, but just one of seven games in which he has seen more than 25 minutes of ice time. The only player averaging more ice than Slavin is Justin Faulk, and that’s by a mere two seconds per game.

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Power Rankings: Red-hot Blue Jackets still fighting for respect

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Power Rankings: Red-hot Blue Jackets still fighting for respect

The Blue Jackets have been the most pleasant surprise in the NHL this season, but it's still going to take convincing for the hockey world to believe they're for real.

We’ll totally understand if you’re having just a little trouble getting on board with the 2016-17 version of the Columbus Blue Jackets. After all, you’ve probably been burned before.

Their fan base certainly seems to be wary. Despite the fact the Blue Jackets are the surprise of the NHL and have emerged as one of the most dynamic and exciting teams in the league, they drawn fewer than 12,000 in three of their past four home games. Even their coach thinks the team has work to do to earn their fans’ trust. “I want our team to have a chip on their shoulder,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella told Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch recently. “I think they should. We’re trying to get respect in the league. Quite honestly, we should be disrespected because of where we’ve been.”

That won’t last long if the Blue Jackets keep this up. The league’s best power play continues to fuel one of the league’s hottest teams and has landed them at the top of thn.com’s weekly Power Rankings for the second time this season. Last week’s rankings in parentheses:

CREAM OF THE CROP

1. Columbus Blue Jackets (8)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (15)

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (6)

4. St. Louis Blues (2)

5. Chicago Blackhawks (5)

6. Montreal Canadiens (7)

7. New York Rangers (4)

8. San Jose Sharks (11)

9. Boston Bruins (20)

10. Calgary Flames (27)

Is there a bigger bargain or a shrewder off-season signing than Sam Gagner?...Steve Mason went from one of the worst goalies in the NHL early in the season to one of the best of late. His save percentage in his first 16 games was .892, but has improved to .947 in his past five… If Marc-Andre Fleury wants to get traded, he’s not doing himself any favor with his play lately…The Blues completed a 4-0-1 home stand with the game going into overtime…With Jonathan Toews and Corey Crawford already out, the Blackhawks lost defenseman Brent Seabrook in their 4-0 win over Arizona Tuesday night…How will the Canadiens and the surprising Alexander Radulov respond to the injury to Alex Galchenyuk?...The injury-ravaged Rangers saw Rick Nash go down with a groin injury and Matt Puempel to a concussion in their 4-2 loss to the Islanders Tuesday night…Joe Thornton passed Brendan Shanahan for 25th all-time on the NHL’s scoring list with an assist in a 2-1 win over Montreal last week…Anyone who predicted David Pastrnak would be in Rocket Richard Trophy contention a third of the way into the season is looking very bright at the moment…The Flames were already one of the hottest teams in the NHL without Johnny Gaudreau, then won their first two with him back in the lineup.

THE MUSHY MIDDLE

11. Washington Capitals (11)

12. Edmonton Oilers (14)

13. Ottawa Senators (12)

14. Los Angeles Kings (1)

15. New Jersey Devils (23)

16. Detroit Red Wings (16)

17. Nashville Predators (3)

18. Minnesota Wild (19)

19. Anaheim Ducks (10)

20. Winnipeg Jets (17)

Capitals coach Barry Trotz had some pointed words to Alex Ovechkin about his penchant for taking minor penalties of late. No cracks in the foundation, though. Just a frank discussion…The Oilers game Tuesday night against Buffalo was touted as Connor McDavid vs. Jack Eichel, the kind of narrative the Oilers have learned to accept. “Every night it’s Connor vs. Somebody,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan…Goalie Craig Anderson started in the Senators’ 8-5 loss to Pittsburgh Monday night, but did not travel with the team for a three-game California trip to be with his wife as she undergoes treatment for throat cancer…The usually stingy Kings have given up 11 goals in their past three games. “That’s too many goals,” said Kings coach Darryl Sutter…Devils winger Taylor Hall on the aftermath of his clean, but devastating, hit on Philip Larsen Tuesday night: “I feel terrible.” Not to be trite, but Hall should not be feeling terrible about the way he has played since returning from a knee injury. He has five points in his past two games…Goalie Jimmy Howard will be back in uniform for the Red Wings when they host Columbus Friday night, but will have a difficult time pushing Petr Mrazek out of the crease…After missing four games with an upper-body injury, James Neal scored a goal in a 4-3 Predators’ win over Colorado Tuesday night…Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, whose career was revived when he came to Minnesota, will make his 300th career start tonight in Toronto…Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle could not pull Jonathan Bernier during his team’s 8-3 loss to Calgary because backup John Gibson was battling a stomach virus…Over the past 30 years, only Teemu Selanne and Alex Ovechkin have scored goals at a better pace than Patrik Laine of the Jets is scoring them now.

VYING FOR THE PARTICIPATION BADGE

21. New York Islanders (26)

22. Tampa Bay Lightning (22)

23. Carolina Hurricanes (25)

24. Buffalo Sabres (29)

25. Florida Panthers (24)

26. Vancouver Canucks (18)

27. Toronto Maple Leafs (13)

28. Dallas Stars (28)

29. Arizona Coyotes (21)

30. Colorado Avalanche (30)

With points in each of their past five games, four of them wins, the Islanders are easily on their most successful string of the season…The Lightning could get Ryan Callahan, Jason Garrison and Jonathan Drouin back for their home game against Vancouver Thursday night…Jordan Staal, sidelined for the past four games with a concussion, likely won’t be available to the Hurricanes for a three-game road trip through California that begins tonight…After playing almost 500 games in the minors, defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer made his NHL debut in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime win over Washington Tuesday night… Panthers have gone to overtime in four of their five games GM Tom Rowe has been behind the bench. They’ve won one in overtime, lost two in OT and one in a shootout…Philip Larsen, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a hit from Taylor Hall Tuesday night, was released from hospital in New Jersey Wednesday morning and was cleared to return to Vancouver while the Canucks continue on a five-game road trip…After waiving Jhonas Enroth, the Maple Leafs search for a backup goalie continues. They signed Karri Ramo to a professional tryout contract and assigned him to their farm team. That should cure everything…The Coyotes have been outscored 14-6 and have averaged 41 shots against per game in an 0-3-1 month of December…All nine of Matt Duchene’s goals this season have come on the road. The Avs could use that kind of production at the Pepsi Center, where they’re 4-8-1 this season and recently went 0-4-1 on a five-game homestand.

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The Rangers started the season as one of the league’s hottest teams, but have come back down to earth lately. Getting back on track will be a bit harder without the services of Rick Nash for the next week.

Another year, another ailment for Rick Nash, but luckily for the New York Rangers winger this one won’t be keeping him out of the lineup long-term.

Nash, 32, was forced to the leave the Rangers’ loss to the New York Islanders early on Tuesday, suffering a lower-body ailment that put him out of the game, and an MRI on Wednesday revealed that Nash will be sidelined for somewhere in the neighborhood of one week due to a groin injury.

Considering Nash was forced out of action due to the injury, that he’ll miss only one week is about as good as the news could be. Most Rangers fans would have thought the worst when Nash was forced to leave the game, especially given he missed nearly a quarter of the 2015-16 campaign due to a knee injury.

Being out for a week would force Nash, currently third on the Rangers in scoring behind J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes with 18 points, to miss anywhere from four to six games, depending when he’s feeling fit to return to action. Only one of those games are divisional games, which is a slight bonus, but the set of games against the Chicago Blackhawks is certainly a pair the Rangers could use Nash for, and getting by the New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets without Nash in the lineup is going to require someone else stepping up.

Nash is in the midst of quite the bounce back season, too. While it may be a far cry from his remarkable 2014-15 campaign in which he scored a career-best 42 goals to go along with 69 points, Nash has already potted 11 goals this season and, prior to his injury, was on pace for another 30-goal campaign.

Even if Nash reaches the 20-goal mark this season, though, it would be a step up from his past campaign. He managed only 15 goals and 36 points in 2015-16, making for the lowest full-season goal total of his career.

Nash isn’t the only injury concern for the Rangers right now, however. New York will also be without Matt Puempel for the foreseeable future due to a concussion and Mika Zibanejad’s broken fibula will likely keep him out of action for at least another month, if not more.

The Rangers, who started the season as one of the league’s hottest teams, are just 4-5-1 in their past 10 games.